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Kritias Secundus
Kritias Secundus is a Type IV semi-inhabitable satellite moon and Mining World of the gas giant Kritias (Pireaus VI) located in the Piraeus System in the Badab Sector of the Segmentum Ultima. During the lamentable internecine conflict known as the Badab War, Kritias Secundus was the site of a massive Loyalist offensive that almost ended in near-disaster as the Renegade Chapter Master Lufgt Huron of the Astral Claws Chapter sprung a cunning trap and counterattacked the Loyalist assault forces. History Human colonial habitation on Kritias Secundus had been in place since at least the 34th Millennium, and may in fact predate the colonisation of the more readily inhabitable world of Pireaus V. The reasons for this include the moon's use as a base for the sustained gas mining of its much larger primary, and the numerous exotic trace elements found in the surface strata of the planetoid itself. Since the advent of the Maelstrom Warders' control of the region during the Badab War, existing orbital construction and shipyard facilities (of a small scale but ancient provenance) were co-opted from native control and turned over to the use of the Maelstrom Warders' Maelstrom Squadron of starships as a secondary replenishment and supply base. The Invasion of Pireaus In 911.M41, Lord High Commander Carab Culln, the Magister Militant or supreme commander of Loyalist forces during the Badab War, put his plans for the invasion and conquest of the Piraeus System as a stepping-stone into the Badab System itself into action. The Piraeus System had been identified as the key to the subsequent attack on the central Badab System due in no small part to the relatively stable Warp route that lay between the two regions. The initial attack would occur with an Imperial Navy assault intended to interdict the industrial world of Piraeus V (also known locally as Yarrow Station), with a direct Space Marine attack against the lunar colonies on Kritias Secundus. From the start, the Loyalist invasion of the Pireaus System was subject to reversal and unexpected calamity. The massive Loyalist offensive almost ended in near-disaster as Lufgt Huron, the Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, sprung a cunning trap and counterattacked the Loyalist assault forces. The Secessionists inflicted heavy casualties upon the Red Scorpions and Exorcists Chapters, and slaughtered tens of thousands of other Astra Militarum and Inquisition troops in their transport ships as part of a mutually destructive orbital battle in the system that saw both sides inflict severe damage upon one another. Lord High Commander Culln was terribly wounded when he faced the Tyrant of Badab in personal combat and only survived thanks to the desperate intervention of the Exorcists' Battle Barge Redeemer. The Loyalist assault was blunted, forcing the Imperials to settle for a blockade action of the Badab System while they made a tactical withdrawal to re-consolidate and rebuild their forces for what promised to be a bloody final invasion of the central Badab System. Departmento Cartographicae Planetary Database The estimated population of Kritias Secundus is currently unknown. It formerly had a population of 37 million Imperial citizens. *'Class:' Type-IV Semi-Inhabitable Moon, satellite of gas giant Kritias (Piraeus V), Mass .6 Terran normal. (Rotation 22.3 Standard Hours), 0.87 G. *'Tithe Grade:' N/A (Formerly Exactis Tertius) *'Climate/Geography/Biosphere:' The native atmosphere is poor in oxygen and rich in carbon monoxide, meaning that life cannot exist without artificial aids. However, the presence of a subsurface water table makes habitation viable with sufficient infrastructure. Extensive native non-Terran pseudo-plant life present. This life exists in fast-growing, highly invasive coral-like tree structures which cover most of the planet's surface in "forests." Indigenous flora can be made edible with treatment, providing abundant foodstuffs for a huuman population of settlers. *'Governmental Type:' During the Badab War, subject to a Secessionist-appointed Governor-General. (Formerly controlled by a plutocratic oligarchy known as the Oratory of Guilds.) *'Planetary Governor:' Unknown *'Adepta Presence:' None; Extinquished under Secessionist control. (Formerly minor, including Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Chantry House, Imperial Navy tertiary orbital shipyard, Provender and Garrison Company for the Maelstrom Squadron Detachment.) *'Military:' Formerly the planet maintained a small void-capable Planetary Defence Force, latterly a garrison of Tyrant's Legion troops, extent unknown. Sources *''Imperial Armour Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two'', pp. 34-39 Category:K Category:Badab War Category:Imperial planets Category:Planets Category:Mining World